What Springtime Brings
by iBloo
Summary: "Those who love you never leave you." Sakura comforts and reassures her daughter when Boruto leaves the village. This is a gift fic for Bingbin. Happy birthday, dear! Have some BoruSara and SasuSaku on your special day.
1. Prologue

This is a birthday fic for one of the loveliest people I have ever met. May you continue to be filled with sunshine. Happy birthday, Bingbin! :)

I don't own Naruto.

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Spring time has blossomed, and blew soft kisses. Pink petals fluttered in wind, raining down on the two figures sitting beneath a curtain of pink.

"Aunt Sakura." Boruto looked down and twiddled with his thumbs. "Am I doing the right thing? I don't want…" He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "I don't want her to hate me."

"Why are you doing this in the first place, Boruto?" Sakura was gentle, but firm. She wanted to know his true intentions for leaving the village. Her voice took on a sad tone. "You know, Sasuke-kun did something similar when he was younger."

He landed his blue eyes on her green ones. He looked surprised that she would even mention that. He looked away. "Hurting Sarada is something I never want to do," he whispered. "But I need to do this." His voice was filled with his resolve. "Not just for dad, but for Sarada, too."

Sakura chuckled and tapped his forehead with her knuckle lightly. "Why did you even come to me, when you already knew the answer?"

He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. Sakura felt her heart swell with fond but sad memories. Boruto looked just like Naruto whenever he did that.

He removed his necklace and handed it to her. "She won't accept this from me now; she's far too upset." He laughed. "But I want her to have this." He placed it in her palm.

It felt warm in her hand. Sakura took a good look at the bolt pendant hanging on a simple chain. It was the one that he wore every day.

"Could you please give it to her for me? She'll know why I'm leaving it with her."

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A/N: Bingbin is such an amazing and awesome person. She not only has the patience to beta read for me, but also never fails to send me rays of sunshine that get me through the day. AND! She's a talented writer. Please check her stories out, and greet her a happy birthday! Hihi. :)


	2. Blooming

Now, we get to the good part.

I don't own Naruto.

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Sakura sat on the bed and scooped her daughter up in her arms. She cradled her small frame, and rubbed her back. As much as hearing her sobs broke her heart, she let her cry it out, because sometimes, a good cry was all her daughter needed.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Sarada finally spoke in a shaky voice, "I don't understand, Mama." She paused and swallowed. "Why am I always being left behind?"

Sakura froze. She knew that Sarada was no longer just talking about Boruto. It filled her heart with grief.

"Am I…" She spoke slowly, as all the sadness and hurt laced around her throat. "Am I not worth staying for?"

Sakura pulled away and looked at her daughter. "Darling, you _know_ that's not true." There was an edge to her voice, bordering on anger. Once she saw Sarada's dark eyes, wide and confused, she relaxed and offered a small smile instead. "Do you remember that time when you were five, and you asked me if your father loves us?"

Sarada looked away from her mother, reliving the shame she had felt back in her younger years. She nodded twice.

Sakura giggled. "Do you remember what I told you?"

She bit her lower lip and looked at Sakura. "He does. And you know this because your feelings are connected."

"Exactly. Our feelings are connected," Sakura repeated warmly. "It's the same for you and Boruto."

"But mama," her lip was quivering with every word. "He chose _revenge_ over me. He _chose_ to leave me." With each word she stressed, Sakura's own feelings of sadness washed over her. Her heart constricted knowing that Sarada had to go through the same pain she once experienced.

Her green dropped. The memory of confessing her love to Sasuke back when she was only thirteen resurfaced. She'd done everything in her power to make him stay at the time, but still, she failed. She had always hated herself for that, until she realized that there was a reason for everything. She just had to trust that he would, one day, realize that what he was looking for was always waiting for him.

"Sometimes, Sarada," she spoke slowly, but clearly. "You just need to let them learn on their own. You father had done the exact same thing when he was younger."

Her dark eyes widened in alarm. This was the story that never failed to bring tears to her green eyes. Sakura smiled at her daughter fondly and wiped the tears away from her own cheeks. "It's not easy…" Sakura took in a shaky breath. "Watching the person you love walk away. It takes a great deal of love and understanding to endure that."

A new batch of tears began to fall from Sarada's eyes. She looked down, attempting to hide her tears from her mother.

"But I'm telling you now, Sarada." Sakura lifted her chin up to face her again. " _Those who love you never leave you_."

Sarada started dry heaving, barely keeping her sobs at bay.

"And I _know_ you have enough love and understanding in you." Sakura smiled until her green eyes disappeared. She knew her daughter needed to hear this. "They _never_ leave you," she emphasized. "They stay with you." Sakura lifted her daughter's hand and placed it on her heart. "Right here."

Sarada held her hand to her heart and looked at her mother with wide and attentive eyes, completely ignoring her tears.

Sakura pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. "Boruto didn't leave the village just seeking revenge for Naruto's death, Sarada. He did it to protect you, too."

Her daughter's arms wrapped around her middle tightly, seeking for more of her warmth and support. Sakura let her cry, as she rubbed her back in a comforting circular motion. "Boruto loves you. So much that he chose to put himself at risk, so he could keep you safe. It wasn't an easy choice for him to leave, too."

Sarada pulled away from her mother to look at her face. "How would you know, mama?"

Sakura smiled and tapped Sarada's forehead with her middle and index finger. "I just do, darling," she said with a wink.

Her dark eyes widened for a moment, but smiled nonetheless. Sakura knew that by now, Sarada had learned to completely put her trust in her. She pulled out the necklace from her pocket and showed it to her.

She gasped. "Is that?"

Sakura smiled and placed it around her daughter's neck. "He asked me to give this to you. He was quite sure you'll know what it meant." She giggled.

Sarada held the pendant in her palm and pouted. "That idiot," she muttered.

Sakura laughed as she playfully admonished her daughter. "Hey! He may be an idiot, but he's _your_ idiot now."

Heat crept all the way up to Sarada's ears, too flustered and stunned to say anything, Sakura went on. She looked at daughter slyly and winked. "Or should I say, you're _his_ idiot?"

Sarada's dark eyes grew wide as she finally found her voice, "m-mama!"

Sakura's laugh filled the spring air. She knew that even if her daughter felt that her time with Boruto has withered and ended, she would eventually come to realize that it was only a bud-waiting for the right moment to bloom in all its beauty.

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A/N: I absolutely love Sakura and Sarada's mother-daughter relationship. Sarada is lucky to have such a rock to lean on during tough times.

Happy birthday again, Bingbin! I'm cannot thank the universe enough for bringing us together. A big thank you to Fanofthisfiction and the FRM, too! :)


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